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Party all night long
As the sun sets over Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it is popularly known as, there’s one street that is slowly waking up. Bui Vien Street. A street vendor in costume If there’s one word that, to me, describes this street, it’s ‘Madness’. It’s loud. It’s bright. It’s seedy. It can get aggressive. And it goes on till the wee hours of the morning. It’s got to be one of the craziest streets I’ve ventured into. It’s no wonder, as it is also Saigon’s backpack quarter. Which means cheap hotels and hostels, and even more cheap beer and street food. Massage parlours flourish and disco lights light up…
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Cu Chi tunnels
There are two different Cu Chi tunnels. Yes, Ben Duoc and Ben Dinh are part of the same tunnel network. However, they are two different sites. Mannequins of Viet Cong women soldiers Your experience will be different, depending on which of the two sites you visit. I visited Ben Duoc. It is a bit further from Ho Chi Minh City, and is also less crowded. The tunnels are also a lot more authentic and closer to how they were during the Vietnam war. Ben Dinh on the other hand, is mostly reconstructions. Keeping in mind the large number of western tourists who visit, many of the tunnels are wider to…
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NAM Vietnamese Kitchen, BBQ & Beer
It was the last leg of our Indochina trip and with money running low, we wanted to stay in an area that wasn’t expensive. Which is why any decent place around Bui Vien Street made sense. It is, after all, the backpacker quarter district in Saigon, Vietnam. View of Bui Vien street from NAM Kitchen We also wanted it to be in District 1, which is what most reviews recommended. We chose a hotel next to Bui Vien Street. It’s where all the action is, we were assured by some well travelled friends. On hindsight, we should have asked what kind of action it is that they had in mind.…
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Temple of the reclining Buddha
On the banks of the Chao Phraya River lies Wat Pho. Also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, it is Bangkok’s oldest and largest wats. Today it is also known as Wat Phra Chetun or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. One of the entrances to Wat Pho A bit of history When King Rama I established Bangkok around 1782, he ordered the construction of the Wat Pho. It was built on the site of an older, Ayutthaya era temple called Wat Photharam, or Podharam, right next to the Grand Palace. In fact, some of his ashes are enshrined within the temple. The temple complex was further renovated…
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And then, there are days…
Days when you don’t necessarily want to talk, you still crave company. Days when it’s okay to sit around, doing nothing. Days when spending an hour with each other is more satisfying than just whiling away a few hours. Those are days. Like this post or want to read it later? Pin me.
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Things to do in Luang Prabang
If there is one destination in Indochina that deserves your time and money, then it must be Luang Prabang. The town comes alive immediately after sunset This UNESCO World Heritage site was the ancient royal capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom until the middle of the 16th century. The temples feature intricate woodwork Today, Luang Prabang is considered to be the heart of Laotian culture, beating the capital city Vientiane as the preferred destination. Young monks doing chore in the temple Depending on your itinerary, you can choose to spend just two nights, doing a whirlwind tour of its highlights, or take it easy and stretch your stay for a…
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Once upon a time in Venice.
When mobile phones didn’t have the cameras they do today. When cameras were analog, and every film cost you a fortune. When every click mattered, and you’d only know how good or bad it was, once you’d developed it. When you were getting older, and yet felt younger. And a trip with Contiki across Europe on a bus was your best introduction to travel. Saluti! Like this post or want to read it later? Pin me.
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Turkey e-visa
A few months ago, a couple of friends had stopped over in Istanbul, on their way back from one the Schengen states. While their trip was great, what got me curious is why they applied for a physical Turkish visa sticker, when they could have availed of an e-visa. Neither their travel agent, nor the local VFS office was particularly forthcoming with this vital bit of information. Indian passport holders have been able to avail of the e-visa option since the first quarter of 2013, with certain conditions. Whilst there is the usual validity of passport that must be more than six months… the most important condition is that you…
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Vietnam introduces e-visa
I was in Vietnam in the last week of December, 2018. This was my second trip to the country, having visited, again exactly 11 years earlier, the last week of December, 2007. At that time, as a resident of Dubai, I had applied for my visa at the consulate. Once my Excel sheet itinerary had been scrutinised, and tickets checked, I was issued with a single-entry visa valid for one month. This time though, I opted for an e-visa. For those not in the know, this is something that Vietnam has just introduced for tourists from a list of 46 countries. If you are among the lucky ones, then opt…
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Cambodia e-visa or visa on arrival
In the second week of January, 2019, I made my way to Siem Reap, Cambodia, on the last leg of my Indo-China trip. We were three of us and upon landing from Saigon, at Immigration we headed in different directions. I had opted to avail of a visa on arrival. There were a couple of reasons why I had opted for this, which I shall write about shortly. My two friends who had previously each applied for e-visas went straight to an immigration counter, got stamped and waited for me. e-visa For the e-visa, the process is simple. You need to log on to their registered website and create an…
